India has ranked third among the countries with the most financial technology (fintech) unicorns in the world in 2023, with the US and UK retaining the top two positions globally. While US is home to 134 unicorns and produces the most value in terms of fintech, UK took second place with 27 fintech unicorns and India secured the third position with 17 fintech unicorns in 2023 so far.
According to global research firm Statista, US is also home to the largest fintech companies worldwide by market capitalisation, with fintech majors Visa, Paypal, and Mastercard dominating the global ecosystem. Out of the top 15 highest-valued fintech firms globally, eight are from the US.
The combined valuation of these eight unicorns – which include Visa ($465.13 billion) and MasterCard ($344.57 billion) – comes in at $1.2 trillion. China came second, despite being home to only eight unicorns. These include giants such as Tencent ($187.92 billion) and Ant Financial ($151 billion), taking the country's overall financial market cap to $338.92 billion.
The Silicon Valley is a natural home for the sector given its history in producing some of the world’s largest technology companies, such as Meta, Apple, Google, and Amazon, and a well-established venture capital system with players such as Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.
India's top profitable companies include stock brokerage platform Zerodha, fintech firm Billdesk, UPI giant Paytm, etc. FinTech giants like Zerodha, Razorpay, Pine Labs, Paytm, Billdesk, among few others have been profitable.
Paytm recorded a consolidate revenue from operations of ₹2,519 crore in the second quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 (Q2FY24), marking a growth of 32 percent as compared to ₹1,914 crore reported in the year-ago period.
The fintech major posted a consolidated net loss of ₹292 crore during the quarter under review, which is 49 per cent lower as against a loss of ₹572 crore reported in the corresponding period of FY23.
In the UK, some of the biggest unicorns include online banking startup Revolut ($33 billion) crypto wallet provider Blockchain.com ($14 billion), and digital payments groups Checkout.com ($11 billion), Rapyd ($8.75 billion) and SumUp ($8.5 billion), according to Statista.
In the UK, startups such as Monzo and Starling made a mark in the banking world with their digital-only offerings, while in China, Alibaba and Tencent launched their own respective mobile wallets, Alipay and WeChat Pay.
First Published:
26 Oct 2023, 05:07 PM IST
Business NewsCompaniesNewsIndia ranks third among countries with most fintech unicorns in 2023; US retains the crown globally: Report
FAQs
India now ranks third globally in the number of fintech unicorns, following the United States and China. The sector includes 25 unicorns valued between US$ 1 billion and US$ 10 billion, 37 minicorns valued between US$ 100 million and US$ 1 billion, and 87 soonicorns valued between US$ 60 million and US$ 100 million.
What is the rank of India in fintech unicorns? ›
Rapid Growth: The number of registered fintech startups in India has grown by approximately five times in the past three years, from 2,100 in 2021 to 10,200 in 2024. Global Leadership: India ranks third globally in terms of the number of fintech unicorns, trailing only the United States and China.
What is the rank of India in fintech? ›
India is the 2nd largest Insurtech market in Asia-Pacific and is expected to grow by ~15X to reach $88.4 billion by 2030. The Payments landscape in India is expected to reach $100 Tn in transaction volume and $50 billion in terms of revenue by 2030.
How many fintech unicorns are in India in 2023? ›
India claimed the third spot with 17 fintech unicorns as of 2023. According to the report, the United States is also the host of the world's largest fintech companies by market capitalisation.
Which country has most unicorns in 2023? ›
India in 2023 had 67 unicorns, which is one less than 68 such startups last year, according to the latest Hurun Global Unicorn Index. The US led the list with 703 unicorns, up 37 from 2022, and China woth 340 unicorns. UK and EU ranked No 4 and No 5 in the list, respectively.
What is the rank of India in unicorns? ›
According to the latest Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2024, India currently has 67 unicorns, down from 68 the previous year. However, the country maintained its position as the world's third largest hub for unicorns.
Which is the third largest fintech economy in the world? ›
India is emerging as a fintech nation and becoming the third-largest growing fintech economy in the world, says the Economic Survey 2023-2024, published ahead of the full Union Budget set to be presented on July 23.
Which country is the leader in fintech? ›
It's no secret that the United States has the best fintech ecosystem in the world, with the United Kingdom and Singapore trailing closely behind. Their winning combination of available talent, healthy competition, enabling regulations, and financial stability gives them an edge that's hard to beat.
Which country has the most fintech companies? ›
In 2023, the United States ranked first in terms of the number of fintech unicorns globally, having roughly five times more of these companies than the United Kingdom, which ranked second.
What is the financial ranking of India in the world? ›
According to the World GDP Ranking 2024 list, India is the fifth largest economy in the world. Other prominent countries like the United States of America, China, Japan, Germany, etc., have a significant presence in this GDP Ranking list.
The story of fintech unicorns in India started way back in 2015 when Vijay Shekhar Sharma's Paytm became India's first fintech unicorn. It took three more years for India's fintech startup ecosystem to produce the next few unicorns, with PolicyBazaar, PhonePe and Billdesk turning unicorns in 2018.
How many tech unicorns are there in India? ›
India currently has a whopping sum of 111 unicorn startups in almost every industry, ranging from E- Commerce to Healthtech to EdTech to SaaS to much more.
What is the fintech report 2023 in India? ›
About the report
In Q4 2023, fintech funding in India experienced a decline of 12% compared to Q4 2022, amounting to $413 Mn. This downturn was accompanied by the lowest median ticket size observed in the past three years.
Who is the second unicorn of India 2024? ›
How many fintech unicorns are there? ›
At FintechLabs we track the value of global fintech unicorns born since 1999. As of 12 May (2024), there are 363 valued at US$1 billion or more. That's up 13 this year, up 34 since the end of 2022, and up 85 from YE 2021.
How many unicorns are in the US in 2023? ›
The Countries with the Most Unicorn Companies
American companies are still dominating the unicorn list in 2023, with 712 companies being based in the United States. This accounts for almost 50% of the total 1,431 current unicorn companies.
Is fintech set to produce the highest number of unicorns in India? ›
Fintech is one of the biggest sectors in India's startup ecosystem in terms of the number of unicorns produced. With 22 of India's 105 unicorns operating in fintech, the sector is second only to ecommerce in terms of unicorns produced.
Which country has the highest number of tech unicorns? ›
The United States leads the pack with 653 unicorns, including major players like SpaceX, Instacart, Stripe, Epic Games, and Databricks.
Who is the first fintech unicorn in India? ›
The story of fintech unicorns in India started way back in 2015 when Vijay Shekhar Sharma's Paytm became India's first fintech unicorn. It took three more years for India's fintech startup ecosystem to produce the next few unicorns, with PolicyBazaar, PhonePe and Billdesk turning unicorns in 2018.
